cower
verb
[ ˈkaʊə ]
• crouch down in fear.
• "children cowered in terror as the shoot-out erupted"
Similar:
cringe,
shrink,
crouch,
recoil,
flinch,
pull back,
back away,
draw back,
shudder,
shiver,
tremble,
shake,
quake,
grovel,
blench,
blanch,
quail,
Origin:
Middle English: from Middle Low German kūren ‘lie in wait’, of unknown ultimate origin.
